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Page 153
TAVERNS AND HOTELS
CHAPTER XXXII
THE City of DuBois, having started in the woods and
grown so rapidly, the question of accomodations to the traveling
public would be a serious one. In John Rumbarger's advertisement of
his land he stated that he would sell his house for a tavern. His
house did become the first tavern or hotel in the town, but it was
not long until other taverns were opened.
It did not require much of a house to have a hotel or
tavern license. If one had four beds for the accomodation of the
traveling public and a place where he could keep horses, he could
get a hotel license. Sanitary arrangements, heating, lighting, etc.,
were not regarded with any degree of importance, in fact, they were
given no consideration.
The day of screens on windows and doors had not
arrived. The slops from the kitchen were dumped out of the back door
or into a swill barrel to feed the pigs or cows and of course became
a place for breeding flies. The manure piles were likewise fly
breeding sources. At noon flies transferred their patronage from the
cess pools to the dining room. If the landlord had some respect for
the comforts of his guests, some employee would stand at the side of
the table and keep the flies moving by a brush, cut from the limb of
a tree, with the leaves on, or one made of strips of paper fastened
on a handle. Otherwise, it would be a race between the guests and
the flies as to which would get the choicest part of the food.
Before the County of Clearfield became a separate judicial
district, there was not much attention paid to the limiting of the
number of liquor licenses granted in DuBois. Any person presenting
his petition with a bond in the sum of $2000.00, signed by 12
citizens, could get a hotel or tavern license and likewise he could
get a restaurant or saloon license.
If any one built a dwelling house or a store building
which could not be readily rented, it was easily turned into a
hotel.
Beginning at North Main Street at the intersection of
DuBois Street, was a hotel called the Nelson House; proceeding south
on North Main Street to the first alley, was a two story building
called the "Miners Home." The next place on North Main Street was
the Rumbarger House, and that completed the accomodations for man
and beast on that street.
West of Main Street is State Street, and at the corner
of State and Grant Streets was the Nihil House, proceeding west on
State Street at the corner of Long Avenue, was the McNulty Hotel.
Going east on West Long Avenue, there were no hotels
until Sugar Alley was reached. Here stood the "Boring House."
Cunning-
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